First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Issues Earnings Results

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02, Zacks reports. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 20.00%. The company had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.26. The stock had a trading volume of 304,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,312. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $32.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.39. The company has a market capitalization of $944.72 million, a P/E ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.93.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FBMS shares. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Hovde Group reduced their price target on First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

About First Bancshares

The First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The First Bank that provides general commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through three segments: Commercial/Retail Bank, Mortgage Banking Division, and Holding Company. It offers deposit services, including checking, NOW, and savings accounts; other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit; and individual retirement and health savings accounts.